Communication networks of German legislators: The case of Bavaria

This article analyses the communication network of German legislators with society. Using the ‘linkage approach’ to the study of political representation, and based on interviews and postal questionnaires administered to parliamentarians of the German state of Bavaria, the article discusses the personal linkages of legislators, their most important partners, their sources of information and political impulses, and their time budget devoted to ‘linkage activities’.     

Securitization and Judicial Review: A Semiotic Perspective on the Relation Between the Security Council and International Judicial Bodies

This article examines therelation between the Security Council andinternational judicial bodies. The first partexplains, on the basis of linguistic theoriesof international security, the new role assumedby the Security Council after the Cold War. Thesecond part analyses, on the basis of insightsborrowed from legal semiotics, the position ofinternational judicial organs vis-à-vis theSecurity Council (especially the InternationalCourt of Justice and the Tribunals for Rwandaand the former Yugoslavia). The article arguesthat international judicial bodies havedeveloped ways of checking the power of theSecurity Council, which go beyond thetraditional modes of judicial review. Legalsemiotics offers the tools necessary tounderstand these countervailing activities andthus the relation between internationaljudicial bodies and the Security Council ingeneral.     

Haemorrhages in head tissues during the asphyxiation process.

Two rates of carbon dioxide flow into the termination chamber were applied for the euthanasia of rats. The classical phases of asphyxia were observed in both groups of animals although their course was prolonged in rats exposed to the lower gas flow. The haemorrhages were assessed histologically in the following structures: the pericranium, compact bone and diplo? of the skull, sagittal suture, nape muscle and its attachment, and the dura.The haemorrhages appeared regularly in the sagittal suture in all cases from both experimental groups. The possible significance of this phenomenon for the forensic practice was pointed out.     

Are Just-World Beliefs Compatible with Justifying Inequality? Collective Political Efficacy as a Moderator

Previous research demonstrates that the belief in a just world is often accompanied by the justification of social inequality and by low socio-political participation (e.g., Jost and Hunyady, Curr Direct Psychol Sci 14:260–265, 2005). However, studies provide evidence that the relations may be moderated by individual differences such as a person’s self-efficacy expectations to promote justice and equality (Mohiyeddini and Montada, Responses to victimization and belief in a just world, 1998). At the societal level, collective political efficacy has consistently been found to foster political participation (cf. Lee, Int J Public Opin Res 22:392–411, 2010). In our study, we tested whether collective political efficacy may attenuate the negative social impact of the belief in a just world: It is predicted that when collective political efficacy is low, a strong belief in a just world would increase the motivation to justify inequality. By contrast, when collective political efficacy is high, the belief in a just world would not increase, but potentially decrease the motivation to justify inequality. In turn, justification of inequality is expected to negatively affect socio-political participation. Data from 150 university students were analyzed using moderated structural equation modeling. In our study, the expected moderating effect of collective political efficacy on the relation between belief in a just world and justification of inequality was established empirically. When collective political efficacy was high, justification of inequality did not inevitably increase with the belief in a just world. In addition, the impact of belief in a just world on justice-promoting behavior was mediated by justification of inequality. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.     

Ketoacidosis and Adrenocortical Insufficiency

We herein report an autopsy case involving a 27‐year‐old Caucasian woman suffering from chronic adrenocortical insufficiency with a background of a polyendocrine disorder. Postmortem biochemistry revealed pathologically decreased aldosterone, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone levels in postmortem serum from femoral blood as well as decreased cortisol and 17‐hydroxycorticosteroid in urine. Decreased vitreous sodium and increased 3‐beta‐hydroxybutyrate and C‐reactive protein concentrations were observed. The cause of death was determined to be acute adrenocortical insufficiency. Fasting ketoacidosis was postulated to have precipitated the Addisonian crisis. Traumatic causes of death and third‐party involvement were excluded. The case highlights the importance of systematically performing exhaustive postmortem biochemical investigations to formulate appropriate hypothesis regarding the pathophysiological mechanisms involved in the death process.